


Backrub

by Stripe



Series: The Four Kingdoms [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-14
Updated: 2012-08-14
Packaged: 2017-11-12 02:51:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/485845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stripe/pseuds/Stripe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Rose is stressed and John is good with his hands.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Backrub

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first of (hopefully many) fics for an AU I'm developing in my spare time, mostly for world-building and characterization fun. More information can be found on my [tumblr](http://tehstripe.tumblr.com/tagged/4kingdomsau/chrono), but for the purpose of this fic, all you need to know is that the kids are all the sole heirs to their respective kingdoms (correlating to their lands in Homestuck proper) and that they chose to "unify" their kingdoms through a four-way marriage. 
> 
> The AU is, as a whole, centered around the Beta OT4 relationship, but this particular fic is centric on JohnRose, and based on a prompt from tumblr. It takes place about a year after their marriage, after most of the idealistic fun has begun to wear off.
> 
> (Also Lolar royalty wears a lot of jewelry.)

Rose’s bracelets clink together as she sets them on her bedside table – the first step in a long ritual of getting ready for bed. She’s back tonight from negotiations with one of the larger states of Lolar, trying to rally the local lord’s support for the unification cause. It went less than spectacularly, but she’s glad to be back nonetheless. The palace she and the other heirs have taken command of is not as lavish as the one she was raised in, but it has its charm, and at least her bed is comfortable.

Once the bracelets are off, she moves to her anklets, removing each one at a time. Back in her mother’s palace, there’d have been a servant to do this for her, but as it is, she and the others are lucky to have someone preparing meals for them. Tedious as it might be, she can at least undress herself. And it is, in a way, relaxing. She allows herself to pretend that each piece of shed jewelry is another worry she can get rid of. The imagery is comforting, if not altogether helpful.

She is moving onto the necklaces when John happens to stroll past, already dressed in a nightgown. He grins at her, and walks in without knocking.

“Rose! You’re back!”

“I am.” Rose bites back a frown as she struggles with one of the clasps, but John continues to prattle on.

“Did you have any luck with that lord you went to talk to? I went to a few more of the representatives and tried to talk to them but they kind of ignored me! But you’re a lot more official sounding so you probably had more luck, right?”

Rose sighs. “I’m afraid not. ‘Official sounding’ or not I’m still not considered an adult. I fear it will be difficult to obtain many loyalties until we’ve proven ourselves capable.”

“That’s dumb,” John says, then, “Do you need help with that?”

Rose flushes, about to protest that no, she most certainly does not need help, but at that moment, her fingers slip from the clasp – a sign to just admit defeat. “If you would be so kind.”

John grins reassuringly. “Yeah, I got you. Just turn around and we’ll have those necklaces off in no time!”

Rose pulls her calves under her as she turns her back to John, and he begins removing her jewelry with deft hands. “You sure do wear a lot of these!” he points out. “I can’t even imagine how long it must take you to put all of this on every morning! Seems kind of crazy to me.”

“It’s proper form for royalty,” Rose explains.

John catches on to her clipped tone of voice and begins to backpedal.“I mean, it looks really great of course! It makes you look like The Empress! Er, in a good way, I mean. Like a goddess, not like an evil sea witch. Er, wait, you’re not a Pisces right?”

“My patron is the Dolorosa, John.”

“Oh, phew!”

John finishes with the last of the necklaces, and Rose finds herself hoping he’ll simply leave her be. Instead he rests his hands on her shoulders, and she tenses instinctively. It’s a forward gesture, and Rose isn’t sure what to make of it. Of course, John is her husband in all technicality, but the four of them have hardly thought about what it means to be a spouse yet. The unification plan is more important than producing heirs, after all, and it is hardly as though they can work off of convention when there are four of them.

But her heart begins to race: perhaps she was the only one with such a singular focus, perhaps he is now expecting her to act as a wife-

“Wow, Rose, you’re really tense! You want a massage?”

“What?” The question sounds more accusatory than Rose means it to.

She turns to face John, who quickly takes his hands off of her, holding them up where she can see them. “You know, like a backrub! I promise I’m really good at them. And it might help you feel less stressed about… things.” He shrugs, leaving it vague. “But only if you want it of course! I mean I guess I can understand if you want to be left alone and everything-”

“No, it’s fine. A massage actually sounds… pleasant right now.” Rose can’t deny that her back has been starting to ache with responsibility as of late, and she can’t turn down a hope to relieve some of that tension. She lets out a deep breath, closes her eyes, and tries to relax as much as possible. Then John’s hands come down onto her shoulders again, and he gets to work.

It starts a little painful, as John digs his thumbs right into the worst knots on her back, but Rose grits her teeth through it, focusing only on the loosening of her muscles. And as the knots are worked out, the pain dwindles too, and she can feel the stress from the day evaporating.

It doesn’t matter that she was called a child, that her plans were mocked to her face, that she was practically kicked out of the lord’s home. She could care less that the unification plan is looking less and less likely as their families grow used to their absence. For now, John’s hands are kneading the worry from her body, and even if he can never remember her patron goddess, Rose is immensely glad to have him there.

“Feel better now?” John asks, and even though Rose’s eyes are closed, she can hear the smug grin in his voice.

“Yes. Though your skills at diplomacy are akin to a toddler’s, you at least appear to be quite the talented masseuse.”

“Hey!”

Rose turns to face him, and though the urge to smirk is strong, she manages a genuine smile instead.

“Thank you.”


End file.
